Victory Life KY

Love is a BATTLEFIELD

Episode Summary

As ambassadors for Jesus, it’s our responsibility to make sure God’s love doesn’t disappear on our watch.

Episode Notes

• “We are strong, no one can tell us we are wrong. Searching our hearts for so long, knowing, love is a battlefield.”

• According to the NT, “love always wins” but if you think for even a second that our carnal, un-renewed human nature is simply going to walk in love because Jesus tells us to, make no mistake, there’s going to be a battle.

• Human nature in and of itself is selfish. Think about it, we think self preservation first, until what? Someone comes into our life that matters. Until love shows up.

• Paul actually tells us that human nature wars against our born-again nature. You see, fighting the good fight of faith, that war that wages in our soul is where the battle is won or lost.

• According to John, God is love. This is why love always wins, but it’s also why our enemy is relentless against us understanding these truths.

• 2 Corinthians 10:3-5,NIV-  For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 
• The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 
• We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

• Peter reinforces the truth, reminding us that this world isn’t our home. And human nature constantly wages war against the soul of the born again.

• James 4:1,MSG-  Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. 
• They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. You lust for what you don’t have and are willing to kill to get it. 
• You want what isn’t yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it. Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? 
• Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves.

• Galatians tells us, the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. So I’ve got us a confession of faith that hopefully will help us become better stewards of a little God inspired love.

• “Lord, I commit to living a life of love. To be passionate and surrender excuses. I refuse to do nothing!” 

• Knowing that love can be battle. Let’s ask ourselves this, am I willing to be part of the solution?

• Remember what Jesus told us, if we see Him, we see the Father. And the Father is love, so if we keep our eyes on Jesus, following Him, what do you think you’re going to see?

• And for those that don’t think love is a battlefield, that sometimes, it’s literally a war in our soul, you try and stop judging the one you’ve already concluded that their failures are way worse than yours.

• I’m not talking about any of this, sooth our conscious with this, love’m from a distance junk. On purpose, extend some God love to that person.

• This might mean that we’ve got to let Jesus set us free from ourselves.
• Make no mistake about this subject, love is costly. Just ask Jesus.

• John 3:16,CEV-  “God loved the people of this world so much that he gave His only Son, so that everyone who has faith in Him will have eternal life and never really die.”

• Remember, we’re made in His image and likeness. And His likeness is love. 

• In our last series we talked about being light, but in that same story in Matthew, Jesus said this, “We are the salt of the earth, but if it loses it’s flavor, it’s good for nothing.”

• Loving people adds a little seasoning, a little flavor to their life. Something Tracy has told me before is, “It’s easy to love the lovable.”

• But what about the one you know that you’ve concluded doesn’t deserve it? You know, the one that did something specifically to you... right? Tell me love isn’t a battlefield!!

• 1 Corinthians 3:4-8,NLT-  
• Love is patient and kind. 
• Love is not jealous, boastful, proud or rude. 
• Love does not demand its own way. 
• Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 
• Love does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 
• Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

• Love always wins! Are you ready for this? When we show love, we’re showing others who God really is. 

• 1 John 4:8,MSG-  “My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love.”

• Would God lead you to someone that He knows needs a touch of His unconditional love, specifically from you?

• And you don’t think love is a battlefield? You really want to find our where your faith is? Let’s make this our prayer today, “God use me to be an expression of You.”

• I want you to listen to these prophetic words from Jesus that I personally believes should be part of the great commission.

• Luke 4:18-19,NKJV- “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, 
• To proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, 
• To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”

• Love wins when someone decides to act. Ultimately, love has to be expressed. You see, faith expressing itself through love only happens on purpose.

• Truth is, at the end of the day, a decision to do nothing is still a decision. Unfortunately, deciding to do nothing only make our influence weaker.

• Studies have proven that the more a person does nothing, the more they’ll do nothing, and be okay with it.

• There was an important job to be done and EVERYBODY was sure SOMEBODY would do it. ANYBODY could have done it, but NOBODY did it. EVERYBODY thought ANYBODY could do it, but NOBODY realized that EVERYBODY wouldn’t do it. In the end, EVERYBODY blamed SOMEBODY when NOBODY did what ANYBODY could have done.

• John 13:34-35,NLT-  “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
• For the born-again, we have to come to terms with this reality, love is supernatural because it’s God’s nature, and He is without a doubt, supernatural!

• So if we’ll intentionally, aggressively think about extending love to others, there’ll be no room in our thinking for the wrong someone has done.

• And I realize some of you think you’ve got to be the church police...
• Remember, intentionally, aggressively think about extending love.

• Make no mistake, the enemy is relentlessly looking for an un-renewed, inactive thought life to pounce on.

• This is why Ephesians 4 tells is to give no place to the devil. Peter says, resist him. Remember where the battle is.

• 2 Corinthians 10:3-5,NIV-  For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 
• The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 
• We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

• As ambassadors for Jesus, it’s our responsibility to make sure God’s love doesn’t disappear on our watch.

• We are strong, no one can tell us we are wrong. Searching our hearts for so long, knowing, love is a battlefield.”

• John 13:34-35,NLT-  “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”